# Douglas Herring <small style="color: gray">Last updated: February 13, 2026</small> ## Overview Douglas Herring is a self-taught artist and game industry veteran whose career spans from the golden age of Sierra On-Line adventure games to major franchises at Microsoft Game Studios.[^ref-1] Beginning as a freelance illustrator, Herring joined Sierra in 1988 and quickly established himself as one of the company's most versatile artists, serving as the lead artist and sole animator on [[1989 - The Colonel's Bequest\|The Colonel's Bequest]] before going on to direct [[1991 - Space Quest I - Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter\|Space Quest I VGA]] and serve as Team Leader and final Art Director on [[1990 - King's Quest V - Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder\|King's Quest V]]—the best-selling adventure game of all time at the time of its release.[^ref-2] A lifelong lover of science fiction and fantasy, Herring brought his passion for fantastic genres to every project he touched.[^ref-1] His work at Sierra helped define the visual style of the company's transition from EGA to VGA graphics, and his contributions to games like [[1990 - Conquests of Camelot - The Search for the Grail\|Conquests of Camelot]] and [[1990 - Quest for Glory II - Trial by Fire\|Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire]] demonstrated his range from character animation to combat system design.[^ref-2] After leaving Sierra in 1991, Herring continued working in the games industry for over two decades, most notably spending eight years at Microsoft Game Studios as Art Director on franchises including Age of Empires, Close Combat, and Fable.[^ref-3] ## Career ### Early Career Before entering the video game industry, Douglas Herring served as Art Director at KIXE-TV, the PBS affiliate in Redding, California, for six years from 1982 to 1988.[^ref-2] His duties at the television station were extensive, encompassing graphic design, set design and construction, photography, camera operation (both field and studio), lighting, and video editing. He specialized in real-time character generator work for live productions such as sports events, parades, auctions, and pledge breaks, and directed several projects including contract productions for the State of California.[^ref-2] Throughout this period, Herring maintained his freelance illustration work, which he had been doing since high school.[^ref-2] Working in a variety of mediums including watercolor, ink, oils, and sculpture, his client list grew to include Kimberly-Clark Corporation, The Comics Journal, Comic Buyers' Guide, Marvel Comics, Malibu Publishing, and Electronic Arts.[^ref-2] His preferred subjects were always rooted in the fantastic genres—comics, science fiction, and fantasy—that had been an integral part of his life since childhood.[^ref-1] Herring's transition to video games came through his first computer, an Atari ST. He created a demo disk using Degas Elite, an early paint program, which would prove instrumental in landing his position at Sierra On-Line.[^ref-1] Despite having little formal art training—he describes himself as largely self-taught—his illustration portfolio and demonstrated ability to work with computer graphics made him an ideal candidate for Sierra's rapidly expanding art department.[^ref-1] ### Sierra Years (1988–1991) Herring joined Sierra On-Line in June 1988, just as the company had moved into its large new metal building that consolidated all aspects of their operations.[^ref-1] The timing was fortuitous—Sierra was growing rapidly along with the computer game market, and there was tremendous pressure to remain the industry leader.[^ref-1] His first major assignment was leading the art team on a murder mystery game designed by Roberta Williams, which would become [[1989 - The Colonel's Bequest\|The Colonel's Bequest]].[^ref-3] On The Colonel's Bequest, Herring served as Art Designer, lead artist, and sole animator—an enormous undertaking that required him to bring the entire visual world of the Dijon plantation to life.[^ref-2][^ref-11] Working alongside fellow artist Gerald Moore, Herring helped create one of Sierra's most atmospheric and character-driven adventure games.[^ref-4] The game's emphasis on character observation and investigation over traditional puzzle-solving required detailed character animations that could convey personality and suspicion, a challenge Herring met with his background in illustration and storytelling.[^ref-5] Following The Colonel's Bequest, Herring continued as animation lead on [[1990 - Conquests of Camelot - The Search for the Grail\|Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail]], where he also served as in-house Art Designer and designed the endgame combat system.[^ref-2][^ref-10][^ref-15] His work on [[1990 - Quest for Glory II - Trial by Fire\|Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire]] saw him designing the art for the desert sections and creating the game's combat system—demonstrating his versatility beyond pure artistic work.[^ref-2] The pinnacle of Herring's Sierra career came with [[1990 - King's Quest V - Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder\|King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!]], released for the 1990 holiday season. Herring served as Team Leader and final Art Director on what would become the best-selling adventure game of all time and Sierra's first major VGA game.[^ref-2][^ref-8][^ref-12] The transition to VGA's 256-color palette represented a massive leap in visual fidelity, and Herring's leadership helped ensure the game set new standards for adventure game graphics.[^ref-2][^ref-8] His final major project at Sierra was as Director on [[1991 - Space Quest I - Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter\|Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (VGA)]], a remake of the original 1986 game.[^ref-9][^ref-13] Herring has described this as his favorite Sierra project, calling it "a great honor to be allowed to re-draw and add to" the work of original designers Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy.[^ref-1] In addition to directing, he served as Art Designer, painter, and animator on the remake.[^ref-2][^ref-13] He also contributed to [[1991 - Mixed-Up Fairy Tales\|Mixed-Up Fairy Tales]] and [[1991 - Castle of Dr. Brain\|The Castle of Dr. Brain]] as Art Designer and animator, and provided preliminary storyboards for [[1992 - Quest for Glory III - Wages of War\|Quest for Glory III: Wages of War]] and [[1991 - EcoQuest - The Search for Cetus\|EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus]] before leaving the company in October 1991.[^ref-2] ### Freelance Period (1991–1995) After departing Sierra, Herring embarked on a freelance career that would see him work with several prominent game developers and publishers.[^ref-3] His first major freelance project was with Tsunami Games on Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch (1992), based on Larry Niven's Known Space novels. Herring served as both Game Designer and Art Designer, though he left the project early and noted that "most of my design was re-worked. However, 90% of the art was done under my direction."[^ref-2] Herring's next project was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Hunt for Paramount Interactive and Tachyon Games, where he served as Art Director. His work included total art design, animation, and background key frames and layout for the adventure game based on the television series.[^ref-2] The project reached 95% completion before Paramount put it on hold, and Herring had already moved on to other work.[^ref-2] During this period, Herring also contributed to several other projects: as UI Designer on MIG-29: Falcon 3.0 Module for Spectrum Holobyte (designing all user interface screens), as a fantasy creature animator on Archon Ultra for Free Fall Associates, and as Art Director and co-designer on the Sega CD version of Spider-Man vs. Kingpin for Monkey Business.[^ref-2] His most successful freelance project was Shannara (1995) for Legend Entertainment, based on Terry Brooks's award-winning fantasy novels. Serving as Art Director, Herring helped create what would become Legend Entertainment's last and best-selling game.[^ref-2] He later described his time working with Legend as "easily my most enjoyable experience as a freelancer," praising them as "just a great group of people" despite the developer being located on the east coast while he worked remotely.[^ref-1] ### Microsoft Game Studios (1995–2004) In November 1995, Herring joined Microsoft Game Studios as Art Director, beginning a tenure that would last nearly nine years.[^ref-2] His responsibilities evolved significantly over this period as the organization grew and reorganized. Initially, he managed both a core group of rover artists supporting external titles and large internal teams that at times included artists, User Experience writers, and designers.[^ref-2] Herring's work at Microsoft touched an impressive range of projects and franchises. On the Age of Empires series, he served as Internal Art Director and Content Lead, working with Ensemble Studios before their acquisition by Microsoft.[^ref-2] His contributions included the technology trees, set-up art, and all manual-related artwork. On Age of Empires II, he spent time in Dallas helping Ensemble re-engineer their animation pipeline.[^ref-2] For the Close Combat series with Atomic Games, Herring served as Content Lead on Microsoft's side, managing the User Education team and overseeing all aspects of the manuals including writing and art.[^ref-2] He wrote and edited all the videos in Close Combat I and produced the videos for Close Combat II and III, while also directing the internal team that created all the game maps for Close Combat II.[^ref-2] As the senior Art Director for Microsoft Game Studios, Herring was the Art representative in four major acquisitions: FASA, Bungie, Ensemble Studios, and Digital Anvil.[^ref-2] He leveled all incoming artists as they entered Microsoft and wrote the Game Artist career ladder that remained in use by Human Resources for years afterward.[^ref-2] During a 2001 reorganization, internal development moved out of his studio, and Herring led a smaller team supporting externally developed titles including Fable, Rise of Nations, Tao Feng, Blinx, and Kakuto Chojin.[^ref-2] His work on these projects often included box art, marketing support, and print production alongside supporting external developers.[^ref-2] Herring has been candid about the challenges of game development at large corporations. He observed that Microsoft's programmer-centric environment often failed to lock down tools early enough in development, a mistake he repeatedly warned against: "you are still in pre-production until your tools are locked down."[^ref-1] He noted that the process for making games differs fundamentally from productivity software development, a lesson Microsoft learned slowly and painfully.[^ref-1] ### Post-Microsoft Career After leaving Microsoft in October 2004, Herring continued his artistic pursuits, including his passion for fantasy helmet creation, photography, and other creative projects.[^ref-1] In 2018, he contributed to [[2018 - Hero-U - Rogue to Redemption\|Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption]], developed by Corey and Lori Cole—his former colleagues from the Quest for Glory series at Sierra.[^ref-6][^ref-14] ## Notable Works ### The Colonel's Bequest (1989) As Art Designer, lead artist, and sole animator on [[1989 - The Colonel's Bequest\|The Colonel's Bequest]], Herring faced the challenge of creating a visually compelling murder mystery that emphasized character over puzzles.[^ref-2] Working from Roberta Williams's design, he brought the decaying Dijon plantation and its suspicious inhabitants to life through detailed character portraits and atmospheric backgrounds.[^ref-4] Contemporary sources praised the artists for investing "much more personality into its characters than Roberta herself," highlighting Herring and Gerald Moore's contribution to the game's lasting appeal.[^ref-7] ### King's Quest V (1990) Herring's role as Team Leader and final Art Director on [[1990 - King's Quest V - Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder\|King's Quest V]] placed him at the helm of Sierra's most ambitious visual project to date.[^ref-2] The game marked Sierra's transition to VGA graphics, and its success—becoming the best-selling adventure game of all time—validated the company's investment in higher-fidelity visuals.[^ref-2] Released for the 1990 holiday season, King's Quest V set new standards for adventure game presentation and demonstrated that computer games could offer visual experiences competitive with other entertainment media.[^ref-2] ### Space Quest I VGA (1991) Herring has identified [[1991 - Space Quest I - Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter\|Space Quest I VGA]] as his favorite Sierra project, describing it as "a great honor to be allowed to re-draw and add to" the work of Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy.[^ref-1] As Director, Art Designer, painter, and animator, he led the effort to bring the classic 1986 game into the VGA era while respecting the original's humor and charm.[^ref-2] The project represented his final major contribution to Sierra before departing in October 1991.[^ref-2] ### Conquests of Camelot (1989) On [[1990 - Conquests of Camelot - The Search for the Grail\|Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail]], Herring served as in-house Art Designer and lead animator while also designing the endgame combat system.[^ref-2] This dual role demonstrated his ability to contribute to both visual and gameplay design, a versatility that would serve him throughout his career.[^ref-3] ## Design Philosophy Throughout his career, Herring maintained that the most important factor in successful game development is the people involved. As he observed from his time at both Sierra and Microsoft, "it all comes down to the people you are working with, and there have been some great ones, in both the freelance and in-house development situations."[^ref-1] Herring was critical of corporate management that loses sight of both goals and methods. He noted that "the more corporate a company becomes the more employees become mere ciphers in the minds of management; and the ability to judge, hire, and encourage the right kind of creative people just gets lost in the shuffle."[^ref-1] His experience spanning small teams at early Sierra to large organizations at Microsoft gave him perspective on how company culture affects creative output. He emphasized the importance of proper production processes, particularly the need to lock down tools early in development. His repeated warnings at Microsoft that "you are still in pre-production until your tools are locked down" went largely unheeded, leading to preventable problems on multiple projects.[^ref-1] Herring's artistic philosophy was rooted in his lifelong passion for science fiction and fantasy. He maintained extensive reference material collections, believing "you can never have enough reference in my opinion."[^ref-2] This dedication to source material and visual authenticity informed his work across genres from Arthurian legend to science fiction comedy. ## Legacy Douglas Herring's career represents a bridge between the pioneering era of adventure games and the modern game industry. His work at Sierra during the late 1980s and early 1990s helped establish the visual standards for the genre's golden age, while his later career at Microsoft connected him to some of the most successful strategy and action game franchises of the 2000s.[^ref-3] His contributions to Sierra's VGA transition were particularly significant. As Team Leader and Art Director on King's Quest V and Director on Space Quest I VGA, Herring helped guide the company through a technological leap that would define adventure game aesthetics for years to come.[^ref-2] The success of these titles validated Sierra's investment in higher-fidelity graphics and helped establish expectations for visual quality in the genre. Herring's work continues to resonate with fans of classic adventure games. The atmospheric visuals of The Colonel's Bequest, the lush fantasy landscapes of King's Quest V, and the comedic sci-fi aesthetic of Space Quest I VGA remain beloved by players decades after their release.[^ref-1] His willingness to discuss his career in interviews has provided valuable historical documentation of Sierra's development practices during a formative period in gaming history.[^ref-1] ## Games ### Sierra On-Line (1988–1991) | Year | Title | Role | |------|-------|------| | 1988 | [[1988 - Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)\|Leisure Suit Larry II: Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)]] | Artist (15% of pictures/animation) | | 1989 | [[1989 - The Colonel's Bequest\|The Colonel's Bequest]] | Art Designer, Lead Artist, Sole Animator | | 1989 | [[1990 - Conquests of Camelot - The Search for the Grail\|Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail]] | Art Designer, Lead Animator, Combat System Designer | | 1990 | [[1990 - Quest for Glory II - Trial by Fire\|Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire]] | Art Designer (Desert Section), Combat System Designer | | 1990 | [[1990 - King's Quest V - Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder\|King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!]] | Team Leader, Art Director | | 1990 | [[1991 - Mixed-Up Fairy Tales\|Mixed-Up Fairy Tales]] | Art Designer, Animator | | 1991 | [[1991 - Castle of Dr. Brain\|The Castle of Dr. Brain]] | Art Designer, Lead Animator | | 1991 | [[1991 - EcoQuest - The Search for Cetus\|EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus]] | Preliminary Storyboards | | 1991 | [[1991 - Space Quest I - Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter\|Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (VGA)]] | Director, Art Designer, Painter, Animator | | 1992 | [[1992 - Quest for Glory III - Wages of War\|Quest for Glory III: Wages of War]] | Preliminary Storyboards | ### Post-Sierra (1991–2018) | Year | Title | Company | Role | |------|-------|---------|------| | 1992 | Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch | Tsunami Games | Game Designer, Art Designer | | 1993 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Hunt | Tachyon Games | Art Director (unreleased) | | 1994 | Spider-Man vs. Kingpin (Sega CD) | Monkey Business | Art Director, Co-Designer | | 1995 | Shannara | Legend Entertainment | Art Director | | 1996 | Close Combat | Microsoft/Atomic Games | Content Lead | | 1997 | Age of Empires | Microsoft/Ensemble Studios | Art Director, Content Lead | | 1997 | Close Combat II: A Bridge Too Far | Microsoft/Atomic Games | Content Lead, Video Producer | | 1998 | Close Combat III: The Russian Front | Microsoft/Atomic Games | Content Lead, Video Producer | | 1999 | Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | Microsoft/Ensemble Studios | Art Director | | 1999 | MechWarrior 4: Vengeance | Microsoft/FASA | Art Director | | 1999 | Microsoft Pandora's Box | Microsoft | Art Director | | 2000 | Age of Empires II: The Conquerors | Microsoft/Ensemble Studios | Art Director | | 2001 | MechCommander 2 | Microsoft/FASA | Art Director | | 2002 | Blinx: The Time Sweeper | Microsoft | Art Director (External) | | 2003 | Rise of Nations | Microsoft/Big Huge Games | Art Director (External) | | 2004 | Fable | Microsoft/Lionhead Studios | Art Director (External) | | 2018 | [[2018 - Hero-U - Rogue to Redemption\|Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption]] | Transolar Games | Contributor | ## References [^ref-1]: [Adventure Classic Gaming - Douglas Herring Interview](http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/599/) — Extensive career interview covering Sierra years, Microsoft, and design philosophy [^ref-2]: [Douglas Herring Official Resume](http://www.douglasherring.com/09_resumemst.html) — Complete professional history with detailed credits [^ref-3]: [Adventure Game Fan Fair - Douglas Herring Bio](https://adventuregamefanfair.com/guests/douglas-herring/) — Biography for convention appearance [^ref-4]: [Wikipedia - The Colonel's Bequest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colonel%27s_Bequest) — Lists Douglas Herring as one of the game's artists alongside Gerald Moore [^ref-5]: [InterAction Magazine Issue 6 - The Colonel's Bequest](http://sierrainteraction.wikidot.com/the-colonel-s-bequest-issue-6) — Original Sierra magazine coverage [^ref-6]: [MobyGames - Douglas Herring Credits](https://www.mobygames.com/person/3318/douglas-herring/credits/) — Complete game credits listing [^ref-7]: [St. George's Games - The Colonel's Bequest Analysis](https://starlingdb.org/games/Colonel's_Bequest.pdf) — Critical analysis praising artists' character work [^ref-8]: [Wikipedia - King's Quest V](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Quest_V) — Development and reception of Sierra's first major VGA game [^ref-9]: [Wikipedia - Space Quest I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Quest_I) — Coverage of VGA remake directed by Herring [^ref-10]: [Wikipedia - Conquests of Camelot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquests_of_Camelot) — Game where Herring served as lead animator and combat system designer [^ref-11]: [MobyGames - The Colonel's Bequest Credits](https://www.mobygames.com/game/194/the-colonels-bequest/credits/dos/) — Art Designer and Sole Animator credits [^ref-12]: [MobyGames - King's Quest V Credits](https://www.mobygames.com/game/139/kings-quest-v-absence-makes-the-heart-go-yonder/credits/dos/) — Art Director credit [^ref-13]: [MobyGames - Space Quest I VGA Credits](https://www.mobygames.com/game/279/space-quest-i-roger-wilco-in-the-sarien-encounter/credits/dos/) — Director credit on VGA remake [^ref-14]: [MobyGames - Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption Credits](https://www.mobygames.com/game/116432/hero-u-rogue-to-redemption/credits/) — 2018 contribution to Cole's project [^ref-15]: [MobyGames - Conquests of Camelot Credits](https://www.mobygames.com/game/248/conquests-of-camelot-the-search-for-the-grail/credits/dos/) — Animation Lead credit